Return of the Other Mother
by xo-Siriusly-Sirius-xo
Summary: Sophie's head was still alive with Coraline's last words to her, and something had just clicked in her head...   "The key!"  Gasped Sophie.  But It couldn't be... could it?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

**Before I start this story, I would just like to say: I have never seen the Coraline movie. I have only read the book, in the book, Coraline does **_**not**_** have blue hair, and I just can't write a Coraline that is so different to the one I read about. So, Coraline doesn't have blue hair in this fanfic. Also, in the book, there is no Wybie. So there is no Wybie in this story, either. The set of flats is not called Pink Palace apartments, and it is not home to several dysfunctional rooms like in the movie. The rooms are average, not disgusting. Thank-you very much. **

"Now, the only thing to do is to plant the key where she will find it. Rat! Come here!" The beldam clapped her hands and a large, dirty black rat scurried into the room. "Hide this key where Sophie Elder will find it. With our luck, she will be here in no time, and I will have another child to entice into my foul world!" She cackled cruelly as she dropped the key into the rat's mouth. "Everything is ready, my sweet little rat. Sophie's stay in the 'other world' will be more realistic then ever!" The beldam cackled again as she watched the rat scurry into the drawing room.

**XxX**

"Please?" Sophie Elder begged her older sister Laura. "Just a little bit?"

"I've told you a million times, Sophie. _No._ I paid good money for that thing and there's no way I'm letting my bratty little sister use it." Said Laura, indicating her hair curler. "And anyway, shouldn't you be unpacking?" Laura smirked as Sophie huffed and walked away. Once in her room, Sophie collapsed onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. She had just moved into this area, and so far nothing had changed. Her parents still didn't give her any attention, and Laura was still the mean older sister she had always been. She was due to start school in a few days, and wanted to make a good impression on people. Therefore, she needed her sister's hair curler. So far though, she had had no luck in persuading Laura. Sophie suddenly froze abruptly. She could have sworn she heard a scurrying sound next to her suitcase, like that of a rat. She listened closely.

_Oh well… Maybe I just imagined it._

"Sophie? Have you finished unpacking?" Her mother's voice sounded from downstairs.

"Almost!" Shouted Sophie, when in reality she had not even opened her suitcase.

"Well, I want you to hurry up. Remember, the Jones's have invited us to dinner tonight!" Called her mother.

Despite being so angry with Laura, Sophie lightened up a little bit. She hadn't had many friends back in Michigan, and she was keen to meet the Jones's who lived in the flat on the other side of her own. She had heard they had a daughter her age, and she could really do with someone to talk to, apart from Laura. She knew there were other people living in her set of flats, though she had never met any of them. She was hoping the Jones family would introduce her to the other's that lived in the set of flats. She walked over to her suitcase and shoved it open, roughly pulling out random objects. She took out her sneakers, her stamp collection, a pair of gumboots, a half-eaten piece of bubble gum, and a strange black key. She had never seen this key before. She ran downstairs.

"Mum? Did you put a key in my suitcase?" Sophie asked curiously.

"No, I didn't, Sophie. Hurry up and unpack. I'd hate to be late to the Jones's house."

"Ok, Ok. I will. Where's dad?" She asked.

"He's grocery shopping." Said her mother.

Sophie sighed and walked back upstairs. It was probably Laura's idea of a joke, trying to scare her with a mysterious key. She wasn't about to give Laura the satisfaction of knowing she found it. Still, she should keep it, just in case it unlocked something useful. What if it belonged to Laura's diary? _Oh, Sophie would really get her revenge then._ Making a mental note to try the key into Laura's diary lock later, Sophie gently placed the rusty key on her bedside table and finished unpacking.

At quarter to seven, Sophie's mother called out to Sophie, telling her to come downstairs. Laura was already waiting. As they were walking out of the door, her father pulled up into the driveway.

"Hello, Sophie. Did you guys have a nice day?" He asked.

"It was alright, I guess…Not particularly eventful." Said Sophie.

"Oh well. Hopefully the next few days will be better, huh?" He ruffled her hair.

"I guess so." Sophie grinned. Her dad could always cheer her up. The family made their way to the flat on the other side of theirs.

"Now, girls, I want you to be on you BEST BEHAVIOUR." Said her Mother. "Understand?"

"Yes, Mum." Sophie and Laura said in unison, as they reached the door of the Jones's flat. Sophie's mother knocked three times, and they waited. After a few minutes, the door swung open, and they were greeted by a kind-looking woman.

"Oh, you must be the Elder's! Hi, I'm Melissa Jones. This is my husband, Charlie, and this is my daughter, Coraline." Said Mrs Jones.

"We're very pleased to meet you." Said Sophie's mother. "I'm Stacey Elder, This is my husband, Phil, and these are my daughters, Laura and Sophie."

"Very pleased to meet you too! Now, why don't you come in? Don't let us keep you waiting out here in the cold!" Said Mrs Jones. Sophie followed her parents and sister into the living room of the house.

"Coraline, why don't you take Sophie up to your room?" Said Mrs Jones.

"Ok, Mum." Said Coraline. "Come on." She added, and Sophie followed her upstairs. They went to her room, and Coraline collapsed onto the bed. There were a few minutes of awkward silence. Sophie was just beginning to wonder if she should start the conversation herself, but thankfully, Coraline bet her to it.

"Do you like it here?" She asked.

"I don't know…" Sophie replied. "It's better than my old home, I guess, but…"

"There isn't much to do?" Coraline suggested.

"Yeah. There isn't." Said Sophie.

"Well, hopefully, that's about to change." Said Coraline, a grin spreading onto her face. Despite herself, Sophie grinned too. She found she just 'clicked' with Coraline. She was like the sister she never had. Sophie and Coraline talked about everything from food to fauna until her mother came up to tell them that dinner was ready. Sophie and Coraline walked downstairs. When Sophie spotted the dinner table, she blinked in surprise. She was expecting a home-made meal, bursting with hidden vegetables. Instead, the table was piled to the top with take-away food. 3 boxes of pizza, several cans of cola and lemonade, no less than 12 boxes of fries, chicken-Salad wraps, nuggets, cheeseburgers, and a large bucket of fried chicken dripping in grease. _This _was her type of food.

"Sorry about this." Said Mrs Jones. "We didn't have much time to prepare, and I'm a _terrible _cook. Plus, I didn't know what type of take-away you guys like, so I had to get some of everything."

"Oh, don't worry about it!" Said Mum. "I know how you feel. I'm a terrible cook too!"

The two women began talking franticly, and soon after, the men followed. Sophie was having the best time she had ever had since she moved houses. She was talking to Coraline as she helped herself to much more unhealthy food then she had ever been allowed to eat at home. When dinner was finished, Sophie and Coraline went to explore the house.

"What's this?" Asked Sophie, as she noticed a large mahogany-wood door.

"Oh, nothing." Said Coraline, looking extremely shifty.

"Coraline! What is it?" Said Sophie. She was just beginning to thing she would never weed the truth out of Coraline, but Coraline began to look thoughtful.

"Can you keep a secret?" She asked.

"It depends." Sophie smirked. "Nah, I can."

"Well… What would you say if I told you that that door lead to another world?" Asked Coraline.

"Well, it depends. What sort of world?" Asked Sophie.

"A world where everything is the exact opposite to how it is in the real world. Where your parents can give you anything you want, and everything is interesting."

"I'd say you were completely bonkers, Coraline." Said Sophie.

"Don't worry about it." Said Coraline, as she turned away, looking half disappointed and half relieved.

"No, No, No! I didn't mean that!" Said Sophie quickly. "Can you show me this 'Other world'?"

"Sophie, I know it sounds like a wonderful place, but it's terrible. You have an "Other Family", and they are all the exact opposite of your own family. It really isn't a nice place to hang out."

"Ok." Sighed Sophie. "How do you get in?"

"With a key." Said Coraline. "But I disposed of the key. I'm not sure if my 'Other Mother' can make a new one, but I don't have it anymore."

"Oh." Said Sophie. "Ok."

"Sophie?" Called Mrs Elder. "We're going home now!"

"Bye, Coraline. It was great meeting you. Maybe we can meet again some other time." Said Sophie.

"Yeah. Sounds good." Coraline smiled. Sophie walked out of the door and downstairs.

"Thanks again, Stacey. And you too, Phil. We'll hope to see you guys again soon!" Said Mrs Elder, as they walked into the cold night and back into their apartment. As Sophie reached her bedroom, her mother could be heard telling her to brush her teeth, but Sophie was only half listening… For something had just clicked in her mind.

"The key…" Sophie Gasped. But It couldn't be… could it?

**Next chapter: The truth is revealed about the Key. **


	2. Chapter 2

Sophie picked up the rusty, brown key and pocketed it… after all; it _could_ be the key to the Other world.

_Who am I kidding?_ Thought Sophie. _The "Other World" is probably some story Coraline made up to scare me. _

But then again, what if it was true? Coraline hadn't done a good job in persuading her that the "Other World" was not a very nice place. It sounded _Wonderful. But how could she get in? Sophie suddenly had an idea. _

"_Mum?" She called. "I left my torch in the backyard. Can I go and get it?" _

"_Ok, but be quick!" Her mother called back. "I think it's going to rain!"_

Sophie knew that her claim to have left her torch in the backyard could be proven wrong at just the slightest investigation, but she didn't need much time, anyway. She had decided she was only going to see if the door really did open up to the "Other World". If it didn't, she would come back home. If it did, she would come back home anyway. Sophie slid the glass door open and ventured into the small backyard. There was a large courtyard belonging to her set of flats on the other side, but each flat also had a small backyard, for small gatherings. She tip-toed to the back of the garden and hitched her foot into a hole in the fence. Then, she hoisted herself up over the fence and landed with a soft thud on the cold grass of Coraline's backyard. She tip-toed onto the small porch and tried to slide the door open. _It was open!_ The Jones's must have forgotten to lock it. Sophie stepped quietly into the Kitchen and tip-toed into the room where she had first seen the door. Being careful, as not to wake anyone, she picked up the key and carefully turned it into the lock twice. Her heart was thumping loudly inside her chest as the door creaked open.

The room was filled with a silvery-purple mist. Taking a deep breath, Sophie stepped inside the doorframe and into the dark mist. She walked through the mist, not really knowing what to expect. She suddenly noticed a spot of light at the end of the dark, misty tunnel. The light was getting bigger, and Sophie soon noticed it was another door. She reached the door and stepped inside. There was no turning back now that she was here. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was in her kitchen.

"Hello, Sophie, Dear. What are you doing out of bed this late?" It was her mother! But now that she looked closer, it was not a carbon copy of her mother. The other-Mother had long, sharp fingernails and in the place where her eyes would have been, there were two, shiny, black buttons.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Asked the other Mother. Sophie began to back away. She could see what Coraline had meant.

"How about a good old mug of hot chocolate?" Said the other mother. "That used to always make me feel better after nightmares." Sophie stopped backing away. _Hot chocolate? _That sounded quite nice, actually.

"Umm… ok, thanks." Said Sophie. As the Other Mother busied herself melting chocolate and whipping cream, Sophie thought only of how she would _never_ be allowed hot chocolate before bed in _her_ world.

"There you go, Sophie, dear. Drink up!" Said the Other Mother. Sophie enjoyed the hot chocolate immensely. It was thick, just the way she liked it, with plenty of whipped cream, grated chocolate, frothy milk, and toasted marshmallows. When she had finished, she thanked the Other Mother.

"Thank-you." She said. "But I really must be getting home now. My mum would be cross if I wasn't home before the storm."

The other mother had a hungry glint in her button eyes.

"But you do know that you can stay up as long as you'd like in this world, sweetie, don't you?"

"That sounds nice, but I really do need to get home." Said Sophie. She suddenly saw a flash of red in the other mother's button eyes… a flash of… _anger._ But then, the anger turned to disappointment, and Sophie turned around to leave.

"Well, remember to come back soon, won't you dear?" Said the Other Mother.

"Ok." Said Sophie, as she walked out of the door and began to walk through the mist. When she turned back, she could see two black button eyes, watching her hungrily from the kitchen table. Something told Sophie she would not want to be returning to this place. She silently closed the door to the other world and crept through Coraline's house. Then, not daring to make a sound, she slid the backyard door open. It had started raining heavily outside. By the time Sophie had climbed back into her backyard and opened the back door, she was drenched and soaking wet. She then tip-toed into bed, hoping her mother hadn't noticed how long she'd been gone for. On the way to her bedroom, she grabbed a towel from the bathroom and dried herself as best as she could. Then, she gently placed the key onto her bedside table. As she fell asleep, she had dreams of purple-silvery mist and frothy hot chocolate, then of scurrying rats and shiny black buttons, and then nothing at all. The evening's events had surprised her, and as hard as she tried to convince herself that the other world was not the place for her, the more she felt like it _was._

**Next Chapter: What will Coraline think of Sophie's little Adventure?**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Sophie lay sprawled on Coraline's bed, wishing she was in the Other World. It was a long story, how she got there. She had awoken early in the morning, heading for the back entrance of Coraline's house. Unfortunately for her, she had run in to her dad in the back yard. He had asked where she was going, and she said she was going to Coraline's. Now that she said it, she had to go to Coraline's, so she found herself sitting on Coraline's bed, not paying any attention to what Coraline was saying. Sophie was silently waiting for an opportunity to slip away. When one came, she took advantage of it immediately.

"I'm going to the toilet." Said Coraline.

"Ok." Said Sophie. Once Coraline was inside the bathroom, Sophie ran after her. "Coraline?" She called, pounding on the door. "Mum says I have to go home. We have an... err…. Appointment."

"Alright. Bye." Said Coraline. Sophie whipped into the room with the door and pulled out her key. She felt bad about lying to Coraline, but regardless, she picked up the key. She turned it into the lock twice and her heart thumped with excitement as the door swung open. She ran through the mist this time, wanting to get to the other world quicker. When she arrived, she found the Other Mother waiting for her, In the same position as she had been when Sophie left.

"Hello, Sophie, Dear. Your back, I see?" Said the Other Mother.

"Yeah, I am. Hello." Said Sophie.

"So, what would you like to do?" Asked the other mother.

Sophie had a great time with her Other Mother painting watercolours in the garden, playing with her new toys in her bedroom, baking cookies, making sculptures, watching DVDs and playing dress-ups. While she did these things, she could not help thinking about how she would never have this much fun with her own mother. And she had an Other Father, too. He would plant all Sophie's favourite flowers in the garden, and buy her any new toy she wanted. She had been in the Other World for hours.

"Sophie? Laura? Phil? Lunch!" Her other mother called from downstairs. Sophie ran downstairs and sat down at the table. To her surprise, Laura came downstairs after her. She gasped in surprise, wondering how on earth Laura had gotten in to the Other world, but then realised Laura had button eyes. It was the Other Laura. When everyone was seated at the table, the Other Mother served lunch. Sophie enjoyed a large bowl of pasta with thick, steaming Bolognese sauce. She knew her real mother was a terrible cook, and that was what made this meal so much more enjoyable. In fact, everything in the other world was enjoyable. After lunch, Laura took Sophie up to her room.

"Soph, I was wondering if you wanted me to curl your hair." Asked Laura.

"Ooh, yes please!" Breathed Sophie. She spent the afternoon having her hair curled by Laura. Then, she decided to go home. After all, if her parents went to Coraline's and found she wasn't there, she would have to explain, and she had a feeling her real parents wouldn't approve of the other world. She said goodbye to the Other Mother.

"Come back tomorrow!" Said the Other Mother. Sophie frowned.

"I'm not sure if I can. Sorry." Said Sophie.

"But Why-ever can you not?" Said the Other Mother.

"Well, my real parents might think I'm missing for too long. If I keep coming here, they'll start to investigate where I'm going, and when they find out, they won't let me go out anymore." Said Sophie.

"Ah… I think we can tend to that." Said the Other Mother. She began rummaging into her pocket and pulled out a single, glowing button.

"Here. It'll help." Said the Other Mother. Sophie returned to Coraline's house and walked out into the corridor. Something made her stop in her tracks._ Coraline!_

"So, come back from your appointment, have you?" Said Coraline, angrily.

"Coraline, I was just… checking out the furniture in that room." Said Sophie.

"That doesn't explain why you lied to me." Said Coraline. Sophie could feel her face reddening, and her bright green eyes tearing up. A single, wet tear leaked down her face.

Sophie sank onto her knees.

"I'm so sorry." She cried. And she explained everything to Coraline.

A few minutes later, Sophie and Coraline lay on Coraline's bed, with the door shut tight.

"Listen, Sophie. I forgive you, but you have to promise me this. You will _never_ stray back into the other world." Said Coraline. "Never."

Sophie nodded. Somehow, despite all the fun she had there, she couldn't help feeling she wasn't supposed to be there… like something was bad about the other world. She thanked Coraline and went back home, determined not to break her promise. She was doing fine until 2 weeks after she had first strayed into the Other World. There had been a ring at the doorbell.

"Delivery." Grunted a large, balding man, holding a large box. Sophie's father rushed to the door.

"Hi. The room's just out the back." He signalled to the delivery man to follow him. Sophie nipped out of the way to avoid the large box. An hour later, her mother called her downstairs.

"Sophie? Could you come down here for a minute?"

"Yeah." Sophie called back. She trotted down each step and landed with a thud on the floor. She then raced to her dad's study, where her parents were frowning at a red sofa that had been badly placed in the middle of the room.

"Sophie, dear. Your father's just received an order for a new sofa for his study, and we've just realised the sofa is simply too big to fit in is study. So, we wanted to ask you something. If you moved to the empty room upstairs, your father could move his study into your room."

"Why can't he move to the room upstairs, so I can keep my room?" Asked Sophie.

"That room is too far away from the internet server, so he wouldn't be able to work properly. Besides, there is far too much heavy furniture to move upstairs, so it would help if the place we were moving it to was as close as possible. So, what do you say?" Asked Mum.

"I guess so…" Sighed Sophie, trying to make clear that she loathed the idea.

"Great!" Her mother smiled, and she and her father picked up the red sofa and began heaving it out of the room. Within half an hour, the lounge was filled with miss-placed furniture from the study and from Sophie's bedroom. Within an hour, the furniture had been moved to each appropriate room. Sophie was disgusted to see that her new room had an extremely large and old "Sparky the Unicorn" Poster stuck in a corner. She tore it off angrily. Being away from the Other World had begun to take its toll on her. The real world seemed so boring compared to the Other World. Then, her jaw dropped as she blinked in surprise. Hidden behind that large poster was a door, identical to the one at Coraline's house. She was certain this door lead to the Other World. If she was finding it hard to resist the temptation of the door before, it was nothing compared to now.

Over the next few days, Sophie successfully shut the door out of her mind. She was beginning to appreciate the real world more and more. Meanwhile, the Beldam was not so happy.

"Where is she?" The Beldam snarled to the rat. "She said she would come back for breakfast today!" The rat merely sniffed hopefully at the sausages sizzling away in the pan.

"Coming here should be easier than ever for her, what with the door in her room and the button in her pocket." In her anger, she tipped an entire bottle of oil into the pan. She scowled as she tipped the contents of the pan into the kitchen bin and threw a few new sausages into the already oiled pan.

"Ah… You know what I think, Rat?" She asked. The rat poked its head out of the kitchen bin. It's sharp teeth were stained with half-raw sausages.

"I think little Coraline has been telling her things about me… I also think a little involvement on my part could take care of _her._" The rat jumped out of the bin, teeth bared.

"You may as well have these, Rat. I don't think Sophie will be joining us for breakfast anymore." She tipped the sausages onto the floor. "Now…" She said, rubbing her hands together. "I have some business to finish."

**Next Chapter: What will Sophie think of Coraline's mysterious disappearance? Does she have the strength to take charge?**


	4. Chapter 4

It had been three day's since Coraline's mysterious disappearance.

"Coraline? Coraline? Coraline!" Sophie called through the big courtyard of the flats. It had always seemed so small to her, but now that she was looking through it, it seemed like a forest.

"Coraline!" She yelled again. She was beginning to think it couldn't get any worse when it started raining.

"Sophie?" Called Coraline's mother. "Come inside. We'll keep looking for Coraline when it stops raining."

Sophie turned back. She stepped into Coraline's warm home, where her parents and some of the other neighbours were sitting. Mrs Jones offered her some warm milk and cookies. As she ate, Sophie thought about Coraline. She had just 'gone missing'. One day she was in her room, the next day she was gone. Over the past few days, Sophie had been helping look for her. Just as she was chewing another cookie, realisation came to her. Coraline didn't just go missing… someone had taken her… and Sophie had a pretty good idea who.

She finished chewing her cookie in silence and waited in the sofa by the window. As soon as it stopped raining, Sophie planned to go outside with the others, but then sneak back into the house and go in through Coraline's door to the other world. What awaited there she would need to deal with as it came, but for now, she was clueless. It rained for several hours. Sophie waited. She was dozing off. She didn't want to wait any longer… she wanted to get up and find Coraline. Sophie wondered what horrible things the Other Mother was doing to Coraline, and she shivered, despite the fact that the house was warm. She slid her hands into her pockets and curled up against the edge of the sofa. Her hands touched something cold. She pulled a large, black button out of her pocket. She suddenly knew what she could use it for.

_This would let her escape to the other world for hours-non-end, and no-one would know. _

She didn't really know how to use the button. She tried everything: Throwing it across the room, leaving it near her family, and anything else she could think of. It wasn't until she breathed on it three times that something happened.

"_Your greatest desire?" _The button said, in a hoarse voice.

"To visit the other world without being seen." Sophie whispered. The button glowed a misty purple and swallowed her into a sea of purple mist before spitting her into the Other Kitchen and turning black again. She pocketed it and jumped behind a nearby set of drawers: She didn't want to be seen, especially by the other mother. All in good time, the Other Mother stormed past and opened the door that led back to the real world. She threw a slab of raw meat into the doorway.

"Eat up, Coraline, Dear." She cackled. Sophie strained to see Coraline. She looked terrible. Ghostly and pale, and curled up looking frail and deathly skinny over a slab of raw meat. The other mother clicked her fingers and a trail of maggots scattered out of the raw meat. Sophie shuddered. The other mother slammed the door and stalked away. Sophie sat in silence looking at the spot where Coraline was hidden. Her thoughts were interrupted for a moment… she could have sworn something rattled in her pocket. Oh well. It must've been her imagination.

Once she was sure the other mother was gone, Sophie reached into her pocket and pulled out her key. She turned it into the door to the real world and found Coraline, lying in the dark, purple mist of the middle of the worlds.

"Coraline!" She whispered. "I'm so sorry!"

"Sophie." Coraline Croaked. "Leave now. Leave while there is warmth in your body and love in your heart. While your eyes twinkle and your blood still flows. Flee."

"No way!" Sophie ran into the corridor and gently grabbed Coraline. She was chained up. To Sophie's utter amazement, the chain broke easily. It was as if the chain was on her side. But that was silly, Sophie told herself. The chain was made by the other mother, and anything made by the other mother was not on her side. She gently grabbed Coraline's frail body, trying to lift her up.

"It's ok, Sophie. I can walk." Said Coraline. It made Sophie sick to hear Coraline's voice like that. And it was her fault. _All her fault._

They walked through the passageway and to the other end, but the door was boarded up. Sophie thumped the door with all her might. The plank eventually fell off. When she swung the door open, she realized in horror that the other end of the door was bricked up.

"How will we get home now?" Asked Coraline.

"There's only one way home, and that's my button." Said Sophie.

"What?" Said Coraline.

"Don't worry." Said Sophie. She reached into her pocket and felt around for the button. But her pocket was… _empty. _

"Oh, No!" Sophie gasped. "We have to go back!"

"Back Where?" Asked Coraline.

"Back to the other world."' Said Sophie.

"Sophie, What are you-" Began Coraline, but Sophie was already halfway down the passage.

Running to keep up, Coraline was feeling confused. "Sophie, will you please explain?" She called.

"Later, Coraline!" Said Sophie. "I'll explain Later! All I can say now is that we're looking for a button!"

Sophie suddenly stopped running. She couldn't storm into the other world. That was too risky. She'd have to sneak in. She walked up to the door handle and was about to turn it when it swung open before her.

"Huh?" Said Sophie. She walked in. Something was wrong. She felt like she was being watched. Oh well, her job was to find the button.

She suddenly spotted it lying on the coffee table. She snuck up to it, Coraline behind her, reached out to pick it up, and… _smash!_

Sophie realized with horror that she was trapped in a cage. The other mother cackled behind her.

"Sophie, do not think you can use my gifts against me. Do not think I don't know what you are doing. You belong here, and here you will stay. Coraline, you had your chance to get on my good side. You refused. Now, I will demonstrate what happens to those who do not listen to me." She Other Mother clicked her fingers and Coraline crumpled to the floor.

"_Ahhhhhhhhhh!" _She shrieked. Sophie could feel something bubbling inside her. Anger, then rage, and then Love. Hold on, was it Love? Yes, it was. Not love for the other mother, but love for Coraline. Love for Friendship. This feeling was amazing. She could do anything.

"You discussing, evil, cruel old bat!" Yelled Sophie to the Other Mother. She ran up to the edge of the cage and pounded on it as hard as she could.

"You'll never keep either of us here!" The cage collapsed with a final _thud _and Sophie and Coraline ran out. They ran past the kitchen, where Sophie had had hot chocolate on her first visit to the other world. She had thought this place was amazing. Now she knew, there were better things in life. Without a final look at the world behind them, Sophie and Coraline ran into the hallway and slammed the door behind them. But, the journey was not yet complete. Strong winds were passing through the passageway.

"The door's boarded up!" Remembered Coraline, shouting over the wind.

"Never mind that!" Sophie pulled out the black button, and whispered to it.

"I want to get back to my own world… to the real world." She said. The button replied in a hoarse whisper.

"_Your wish is my command." _The button swallowed them up again, and spat them out into Sophie's bedroom.

Taking deep breaths, Sophie took her bedside table's key, locked the door, and put the key into her pocket, planning to throw it into the fire later. She told Coraline what the button did, and agreed to throw that into the fire too.

"Something tells me you won't want to go back into the other world again." Said Coraline. Sophie Nodded. "But still…" She walked to the waste paper bin and fished out the Sparky the Unicorn Poster. She taped it up over the door. "Just in case."

"We have to make up a story of how we found you." Said Sophie. After a while, the girls finally decided on: "Coraline was camping in the forest when she got lost and tried to get home. She finally found her way back." They had decided that the excuse was not quite as believable as they would have liked, but it made sense.

"Coraline!" Yelled Mrs Jones. "Your back!" She wiped tears from her eyes as she ran to hug her daughter. All the neighbours were glad to see Coraline too. They celebrated for a while… the party went on until the early morning, when most of the neighbours left. Sophie spent the next night at Coraline's house. In a few days, school would be starting, and she was pleased to know that she would be in the same class as Coraline. After all, friends _were_ the best things in the world, and even _Sophie_ couldn't pretend_ that_ wasn't true.

**Thanks for sticking with me and reading my story! Sorry about the long update wait times, but I had to finish my science project. Thanks again, and look out for my next fan-fiction! **


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